Coney Island 8 Back on the Boardwalk?!? Agreement Is ‘Really Close’

Coney Island’s future (or its immediate future, at least) looks bright: Two months before opening day and a day before the Coney Island 8 and Zamperla were due back into court, a source tells Amusing the Zillion that Zamperla is prepared to offer leases to Ruby’s, Paul’s Daughter, Cha Cha’s, and five other boardwalk fixtures for the 2011 season. Attorney Marc Aronson won’t yet confirm any details, but tells Grub Street, “We’re working on something that’ll be an amicable resolution for all the parties and something that’ll be really just for both sides, and we’re really close.” He says he expects tomorrow’s court date to be postponed for a weeks, “at which point we’ll finalize the details of the stipulation or agreement.”

According to Amusing the Zillion, the lease would keep the businesses in the same location (except for Shoot the Freak, which will be replaced by the Scream Zone’s entrance) until November 1, when they’ll have to clear out. They’ll pay $100,000 for the season as in previous years, and won’t be able to bad-mouth Zamperla (and we’re assuming Sodexo and Central Amusement International), who’ve taken big hits to their public image but now seem to have gotten their heads out of the sand. Needless to say, this news, if it pans out, is going to carry us through the rest of this cold winter.